Iconic roles can usually be locked down to a single face. Indiana Jones will always be Harrison Ford, Luke Skywalker will always be Mark Hamill. There’s a certain special connection you can make between a character and an actor if they become one and the same. There’s loads of iconic roles that have been played by different actors, however. And while it would be hard for the next Indiana Jones to make us forget about Harrison Ford, there’s no reason to assume it couldn’t be a good thing.
Let’s take a look at some iconic roles that have been played by different actors over the years.
James Bond
Starting off with Sean Connery and ending with Daniel Craig, we’ve had 7 actors take up the role of “Bond, James Bond” so far. After No Time To Die, it’s already been announced that we’ll be getting the 8th James Bond actor, yet there’s no confirmation about who it will be.
The Joker
Even when just looking at all the different movies, we’ve had Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and Joaquin Phoenix. All four had a different version of this iconic character, but I doubt we’ll see anyone trying to take up this role after the impact Joaquin’s portrayal had.
Anna Karenina
Even Tolstoj novels have seen different actresses portray the most iconic characters. Whether you’re more a fan of the Keira Knightley version or the Sophie Marceau one, these actresses always steal the show and bring their absolute best.
Conan The Barbarian
Where once we thought Conan would forever be Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Momoa rose to the challenge and decided to have his own go at the iconic character from the Robert E. Howard books.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes has seen a lot of actors play him over the years, but the most well-known ones right now are probably Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr., also known as Dr. Strange and Iron Man. When these men aren’t busy defeating Thanos, they solve more Earthly mysteries as the detective brought to life by Arthur Conan Doyle.
The Hulk
Where superhero recasts aren’t really all that special, we’ve seen this particular character get recast twice in the same continuïty. Where the Eric Bana version wasn’t really confirmed to be a part of the MCU, the fact that General Ross shows up in Civil War probably means that we’ve had Eric Bana, Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo play The Hulk.
Hannibal Lecter
While Anthony Hopkins will always be the most associated with the role of Hannibal Lecter, we’ve seen Mads Mikkelsen make a more than decent attempt at knocking Anthony off his pedestal in the tv show Hannibal. Mads was a bit more sociable than Anthony’s portrayal of the cannibal, but then again, Mads’ Hannibal wasn’t stuck behind bars.
